Roundup: Milford volleyball on a roll

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If there was good news in losing Kane Wittorff to injury in late April, it’s that it gave the Milford volleyball team plenty of time to figure out how to play minus its senior star.

Almost a month later, the Scarlet Hawks look like they’ve figured it out, beating Newton North, 3-2, Sunday in a nonleague match between teams with high hopes for the tournament. Pairings for the MIAA tournament will be announced Tuesday.

Host Milford (17-1) dropped the first game, 25-21, but came back to win the match, 25-16, 20-25, 25-16, and 15-9. Setter Tim MacMannis had 32 assists and his ability to distribute the ball made sure the guys up front had big days as well. Junior Mike Antonellis had 14 kills, senior Mike Soares 10, and sophomore Erik Vega, who stepped in when Wittorff went down with a knee injury, also had 10.

“We’re starting to settle in a bit now,’’ said Milford coach Linda Zacchilli. “We’ve made some adjustments and the kids are starting to come together.”

Against Newton North (13-4), a change in attitude also helped.

“We served better as the match went on and we served more aggressively. You have to be aggressive from behind the line,’’ said Zacchilli. “Some time the kids serve safe. We have to have confidence in what we can do behind the line.”

Tennis

North boys — The Lexington doubles team of senior Dan Maffa and Jesse Kao won the sectional title, beating Westford’s Jamison Bigham and Corey Yu, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Maffa and Kao advance to the state individual championships June 15. In singles, Will Sharton of Wayland will face St. John’s Prep’s Chris Toner for the title. The day and site of their match is TBA.

South boys — With semifinal play complete, the singles and doubles finals will be played Saturday at Newton North. The singles final will pit BC High’s Charles Shewalter against Cape Cod Academy’s Patrick Wyeth. The doubles final features BC High’s Charles Morris and Caye Tittmann against Newton North’s Max McKee-Proctor and Owen Grafe.

North girls — The singles and doubles semifinals and finals will be held Saturday in Lexington. Play begins at 9 a.m.

South girls — The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held Saturday at Old Rochester beginning at 9 a.m. The finals will be held Sunday.